Latest news with #JulieRaqueAdams
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
1 year after passage, Kentucky kinship care law remains in dispute
FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — A year after the passage of a kinship care law, it remains unenforced and unfunded. 'These are issues that are bipartisan. Bicameral. I mean, the governor signed it into law. I mean, this is not controversial stuff,' Sen. Julie Raque Adams told FOX 56 News. It was a bill meant to give financial support for relatives and close family friends of children in foster care to keep that child in that trusted person's home. Kentucky Youth Advocates estimated last year there were about 55 thousand Kentucky children being raised by relatives or fictive kin. At an administrative regulations review meeting this week, Sen. Adams asked why there is still no progress implementing 2024's Senate Bill 151. Kentucky Senate candidate calls ethics investigation 'weaponizing government': Here's why 'This is a joke, that the cabinet has full discretion to implement what they want to implement,' she said. The impasse appears to come back to the 2-year state budget passed in 2024, which didn't specifically direct funds to the program. Crystal Staley, director of communications for Gov. Andy Beshear, told FOX 56 in a statement, 'The most recent state budget provides specific funding for the increase to therapeutic foster care rates. It contains no such funding for relative caregivers.' She added that the state supreme court has previously said the state can't implement programs and policies without the funding to do so and that letters were sent by the administration to the legislature pointing out a shortfall in advance of the budget's passage, which Sen. Adams supported. 'That budget piece that they are referring to can fit therapeutic, and it can fit kinship foster care too,' she said in response to the statement. Adams said the bill was specifically written to comply with the budget language and also requires the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to create regulations, essentially designing the program and better understanding how it should be paid for. Those have so far not been produced. 2 arrested in Central City with nearly 350 grams of methamphetamine Lexington police seek info on 'vehicle of interest' after shots fired call Virginia man accused of choking woman, abusing kid outside Pike County church 'As we head into the next budget session, if they don't work on those regs, then we're going to be in the exact same place. But the law requires them to put forth regs, and we're hoping that they will do that,' Adams said. Adams said she wants to work with the administration on getting the law implemented, saying the first step is to create those regulations. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Democrats pass as late breaking ‘clarification' of Kentucky abortion law clears Senate
Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville, was among Senate Democrats passing on a bill meant to provide Kentucky health care providers with more clarity regarding the state's laws on abortion. (LRC Public Information) In response to what one Republican called 'a desperate need for clarity' in Kentucky's abortion law, the Senate has approved language detailing the ban's exception for 'life of the mother' and listing some situations when doctors may end complex pregnancies. All Democrats in the Republican-controlled Senate passed on the vote, saying they hadn't had time to review the changes, which were first made public Wednesday, or to understand if the amendment would help or hurt pregnant women and medical providers. Health care professionals in Kentucky and beyond have long said the state's abortion laws are too medically vague and inhibit their ability to properly treat miscarriages, hemorrhages and other emergencies. Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, carried House Bill 90 on the Senate floor. Once a bill only to pave the way for freestanding birth centers in Kentucky, itl now carries the abortion clarification language. HB 90 has now passed both chambers and only needs House concurrence with the amendment to be sent to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear for a signature or veto. The clarification language was first added to a different bill Wednesday, but that bill has yet to clear a chamber. 'There is a desperate need for clarity on a lot of … medical issues that come up during the course of a pregnancy,' Raque Adams said. 'There is a lot of misinformation out there in the medical community, and doctors just need to be doctors. And so this language that's before us today adds some much needed clarity for the medical community.' The clarification still instructs health care providers to 'make reasonable medical efforts under the circumstances to preserve both the life of the mother and the life of the unborn child.' But it outlines that doctors can intervene to remove molar and ectopic pregnancies, manage miscarriages, treat sepsis and hemorrhage and more. It also leaves the determination of an emergency to 'the physician's reasonable medical judgment.' Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville, said she would support anything that 'will save the lives of pregnant women in this state' but she felt the language was rushed through the process. Chambers Armstrong said she hadn't received the bill substitute in time to understand it and consult with experts, slamming 'an intentional choice by the majority party in the way this legislation was moved to disenfranchise me and the people I represent on this very important issue.' 'I really hope that this bill does take a step forward in terms of allowing doctors to provide lifesaving care. I truly hope that that is what this legislation does. However, I don't know that,' she said. In committees Wednesday, Dr. Jeffrey M. Goldberg, the legislative advocacy chair for the Kentucky chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), said the language isn't perfect and will need more work. But, he said, physicians already work under such ambiguity that something has to be done. Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, said the effort at clarity is still 'full of words that have no meaning to a physician.' 'It's an excellent effort to fix a huge — huge — problem of our own making,' said Berg, who is also a doctor. 'But it can't be rushed. It needs to be right.' Beshear in his weekly news conference said the Republican changes are not enough to restore access to abortion in Kentucky. He pointed out that Kentucky's abortion ban still would have no exceptions for victims of rape or incest. 'Even with this bill, it would be significantly less access than virtually every other state in the United States.' He also said he has questions about whether the new language would clarify or confuse the legal picture for health care providers. 'We were told by those that that passed the trigger law originally that it provided an exception for the life of the mother, and now this bill is saying that it needs to be passed through law. So one question I'm going to have is: Is it more or less restrictive than the current understanding in the medical community that we have right now?' McKenna Horsley contributed to this story.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sextortion is a growing threat. Here's what Kentucky is doing to protect teens.
Sextortion is a form of exploitation that occurs when a person obtains sexually explicit images of an individual and threatens to release them unless their demands are met (monetary, sexual or other requests). There is a steep climb in 14 to 17-year-old boysbeing targeted for sextortion; however, younger boys — or anyone can become a target of online sexual extortion. Teenage boys can be targeted by adult predators pretending to be young girls. Predators feign a romantic interest in the boys on gaming platforms, apps and social media sites. Mainly, money is sought after trickery to get sexually explicit photos from unsuspecting youths from their cell phones or computers; however, victims can be young adults as well as adults. Victims are threatened relentlessly with the release of the photos to teachers, classmates, friends, parents, etc. The end of 2023, I was horrified to read the U.S. Department of Justice had sounded the alarm in 2022 about the explosive increase of 3,000 children who became victims of Sextortion — with more than a dozen dying by suicide. Today, 30 young teens have taken their lives and a few cases have been ruled as homicides. Because of long-time human trafficking work, I quickly realized sextortion can lead to perpetrators engaging victims to become sex trafficked for financial payments. Legislation was needed. As president of United Nations Association of the USA Kentucky Division (UNA-USA KY Div.), I began forming a Kentucky Sextortion Coalition with the goal for a sextortion bill in the 2024 Kentucky General Assembly. I reached out to Sen. Julie Raque Adams to be the sponsor. Looking at data from National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) released on April 15, 2024, a graph of monthly reports spanning two years showed exponential growth in sextortion reports: In 2022 there were 10,731 reports, compared to 26,718 reports a year later. Likely, many more were not reported. The KY Sextortion Coalition helped pull together information for what would soon become Senate Bill 181, sponsored by Sen. Adams. But, SB181 did not move much and died — perhaps because of the emphasis on the budget. Opinion: Conversion therapy is child abuse. Kentucky lawmakers are trying to revive it. Nevertheless, the KY Sextortion Coalition held meetings and created an action plan for more education and advocacy. We were not deterred from the mission to pass a sextortion bill in the commonwealth. When the Kentucky General Assembly kicked off its session in January, the coalition continued to update flyers, provide information, data and sextortion cases to put teen faces with stories told by parents facing the devastating loss of their children. On Feb. 6, Senate Bill 73, which makes sexual extortion a felony and allows for enhanced penalties, was presented in the Senate Judiciary Committee and got "yes" votes from all present. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Adams, also requires schools to inform students about sextortion and how victims can get help. SB 73 got unanimous approval on the Senate Floor and went on to get unanimous approval before the House Judiciary Committee and the full House. Now, the bill is on the desk of Gov. Andy Beshear. Meanwhile, California is using SB 73 as model legislation. We hope more states will enact legislation, too. Opinion: I'm a Kentuckian fired from USAID. Here's what my work really did. To help victims, please provide the following: 1-800-CALL-FBI, 988 suicide prevention hotline, NCMEC's or Homeland Security. These crimes can devastate victims and their families. While Sextortion is a global problem, here in Kentucky, we can: Help bring awareness for parents to talk to children. Help the public understand that images can be taken from their cell phones, even if in Snap Chat, Instagram, Facebook, gaming or video chats, etc. Insist that everyone be vigilant to close the camera lens on cell phones and computers and TVs — especially when undressing or changing clothes. Let all know that hacking a victim's device to gain access and control of the webcam or phone camera to obtain images or videos can devastate lives. More laws will be needed as AI and other electronic devices are created and used. Multiple people are being extorted daily by even one predator. It is lucrative and they will not stop until laws force them to face responsibility. It only took one person to step forward to begin to hold predators accountable for their crimes. I hope you will be that person in the future! Teena Halbig is the Kentucky Sextortion Coalition lead president, United Nations Association of the USA Kentucky Division. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Sexual extortion is hurting teens. KY is fighting back. | Opinion
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill regulating cannabis-infused drinks passes in Kentucky Senate: Here's what it would change
FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — A bill that would regulate cannabis-infused beverages passed on Friday in the Kentucky Senate. On Friday, senators voted to advance Senate Bill 202 in a 29-6 decision. The bill spells out what qualifies as a 'cannabis-infused beverage' and sets the limit on the level of cannabinoids a drink can contain to five milligrams. Sen. Julie Raque Adams R-Louisville, who sponsored SB 202, said there are several cannaboid products with non-intoxicating properties that the bill does not limit. Over 225,000 ineligible voters purged from Kentucky voter rolls 'These cannabis-infused beverages are the result of a loophole in the 2018 federal farm bill that reauthorized the growing of hemp in our country,' Sen. Adams said. 'It didn't take long for someone to quickly figure out you can extract the THC and that's the delta-9 and put it in a whole host of products.' The legislature reportedly calls on the University of Kentucky Cannabis Center to research the production, testing, distribution, sale, and consumer effects of cannabis-infused drinks on the community. Critics of SB 202 said it makes sense for THC and cannabis-infused drinks to be regulated, but questions emerged about the bill's effect on Kentucky's economy. 'I think that most everyone would agree there's got to be regulations in place,' Said Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville, who voted against the bill. 'I'm all for that. I think they should be regulated, taxed and made sure that we continue to put sections in place that only adults are getting these beverages.' Cannabis advocates in the Commonwealth, such as members of Kentucky NORML, said that hemp beverages are currently regulated and approved by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) under state law. Under SB 202, however, the drinks would fall under the authority of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). 'Banning these products isn't just bad policy—it's an economic gut punch to farmers, small businesses, and local economies across the state,' said Matthew Bratcher, Executive Director of Kentucky NORML, Government Relations Committee member of Hemp Beverage Alliance, and State Regulations Committee for the National Cannabis Industry Association. Sen. Gary Boswell, R-Owensboro, said products with THC that go over the federal limit should be confiscated. Former Gov. Bevin's adopted son files protective order against parents Bill regulating cannabis-infused drinks passes in Kentucky Senate: Here's what it would change Human remains found in Jessamine County identified: Here's what we know 'If you give them an inch, they'll take a mile. Suddenly, the products that exceed the federal law on THC content have flooded our market,' Sen. Boswell said. 'I believe that all these illegal products should be confiscated. No bill's perfect.' Next, SB 202 will head to the Kentucky House of Representatives for debate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
KY Senate votes to regulate intoxicating hemp beverages but drops sales ban
Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, listens as Sen. David Yates, D-Louisville, explains his opposition to the current version of Senate Bill 202. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer) The Kentucky Senate advanced a bill Friday that would regulate intoxicating hemp-derived beverages but without banning their sales as first proposed. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, amended Senate Bill 202 after Republicans and Democrats alike expressed skepticism about the ban when the measure was approved by a committee earlier this week. Adams's floor amendment removed the temporary sales ban and would instead impose a cap of 5 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, on cannabis-derived drinks. The bill adds regulation of the intoxicating beverages to state laws that regulate alcoholic beverages, giving the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control the authority to oversee their distribution and sale. Raque Adams said her floor amendment provided a 'really solid starting point to put guardrails around this product so it doesn't get in the hands of our children, guardrails for public health and guardrails for safety while maintaining the small business interests that we have seen across the commonwealth.' 'We are treating cannabis-infused beverages exactly like we're treating alcohol,' Adams said. As canned hemp-derived beverages containing THC have been gaining popularity across the country and popping up in convenience stores, state governments have increasingly sought to regulate them. SB 202 passed the Senate by a vote of 29-6 with the minority of Democrats opposing the legislation, arguing that, while they agreed with regulating the beverages, the legislation was rushed and that senators and the public were not given enough time to understand the changes. Sen. David Yates, D-Louisville, said he worried about trying to digest large changes to the bill, noting some hemp-derived beverages have mixtures of various cannabinoids. Sen. Karen Berg, D-Louisville, questioned the 5 milligram THC limit because she didn't know how the THC in the beverages is absorbed compared to gummies or cannabis flower. 'I think when we're dealing with something that is regulating an industry that is currently legal, we have to be able to hear from that industry to make sure that we're getting these regulations correct and that there aren't any unintended consequences,' said. Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville. She said Adams' bill 'might be the perfect place for us to land' for regulation but that she did not have the information to know for sure. Raque Adams used a 'shell' bill as a vehicle for addressing hemp-derived beverages after the deadline for filing bills had passed. The original SB 202 made minor technical changes in the law before Raque Adams replaced its contents with her bill. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
